The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act is a United States federal statute enacted in 1998 to protect children's privacy by regulating what personal information may be collected from children's... more +

The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act is a United States federal statute enacted in 1998 to protect children's privacy by regulating what personal information may be collected from children's online activity. The law applies to commercial websites and online services directed at children under thirteen years of age and regulates how personal information may be collected, stored or used. less -

Last week the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey dismissed, with prejudice, class action claims against Google and Viacom concerning targeted advertising and the online tracking of children through...more

Companies with online sites and services that expressly target a young audience, such as websites and mobile apps providing entertainment, games or educational enrichment specifically oriented toward children, should already...more

According to a Request for Investigation filed with the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) on December 9, 2014, a coalition of consumer and children’s privacy rights organizations has asked for a federal investigation of the...more

“How did we have sweepstakes before Facebook?” That question, which I heard during a call last week, summarizes the tremendous impact that social media has had on the use of sweepstakes and contests. These promotions are more...more

On Jan. 1, 2015, California’s “Online Eraser” law will take effect, requiring websites and other online service operators to delete on demand any content posted by minors. The law also prohibits such operators from sharing...more

Except for a handful of laws that apply to specific industries, such as health and financial services, there is no comprehensive federal law that requires companies to have a privacy policy. However, some states, including...more

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law Monday, August 29, 2014, a law aimed at restricting the use of students' educational data by third-party vendors, making this one of the more restrictive and sweeping state privacy...more

As we predicted in prior blog posts, the Federal Trade Commission has begun its vigorous enforcement of the Amended COPPA Rule. And one of the players is not a child-related site, so read on. The Commission just announced ...more

The Federal Trade Commission has recently focused its consumer protection efforts on the mobile arena, and particularly video game companies operating in that arena.
Early last year, the FTC issued several staff...more

The Federal Trade Commission announced that it has approved a new method for companies to obtain parents’ verifiable consent for online collection and use of children’s personal information under the Children’s Online Privacy...more

California Online Protection Act -
The California Online Protection Act (the “Act”) requires a commercial Internet website or online service to conspicuously post a privacy policy on its website if it collects...more

In This Issue:
- European Commission Proposes Changes to the US-EU Safe Harbor:
In our November Privacy & Cybersecurity Update,1 we reported that the European Commission was undertaking a review of the U.S.-EU...more

Significant compliance obligations with children’s privacy rules!
Last December, the FTC gave to us the long awaited (or maybe not so much by covered entities!) final amendments to the 14-year old Children’s Online...more

FTC Shoots Down COPPA Compliance Request Based on Social Networking -
The Federal Trade Commission has denied an application from AssertID seeking the agency's approval of a proposed method of verifiable parental...more

As part of a flurry of new privacy legislation, California Governor Jerry Brown signed two new data privacy bills into law on September 27, 2013: S.B. 46 amending California’s data security breach notification law and A.B....more

Following up on the new Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule that went into effect on July 1, 2013, the Federal Trade Commission has released an updated set of FAQs to provide additional clarity and...more

In December 2012, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) adopted final amendments to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule, which regulates how companies may collect information online from children under 13. ...more

What is COPPA?
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA), and the COPPA Rule, 16 C.F.R. Part 312, promulgated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) under that Act, require that website operations...more

A Friendly Reminder from the FTC: You May Be in Trouble -
Continuing the countdown to the effective date of the amended Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule, the Federal Trade Commission sent “educational...more

With the rise of BaaS (or Backend as a service) platforms, it is easier than ever to create a mobile app on the fly. But Fenwick privacy co-chair Tyler Newby advises that companies should be aware of some important privacy...more

Today, the FTC sent more than ninety (90) “educational” letters to domestic and foreign businesses whose Web sites and online services (including mobile apps) appear to collect personal information from children that are 12...more

The Federal Trade Commission voted unanimously this week to keep the July 1, 2013, compliance date for the new COPPA Rule. Representatives from several industry groups had asked the FTC to delay the compliance date to give...more